University Heights | |
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Neighborhood of The Bronx | |
Looking east on 183d to 183rd Street (IRT Jerome Avenue Line) from Croton Aqueduct three blocks away
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Location in New York City | |
Coordinates: 40°51′36″N 73°54′33″W / 40.860100°N 73.9093030°WCoordinates: 40°51′36″N 73°54′33″W / 40.860100°N 73.9093030°W | |
Country | United States |
State | New York |
City | New York City |
Borough | Bronx |
Area | |
• Total | 1.03 km2 (0.397 sq mi) |
Population (2011) | |
• Total | 25,702 |
• Density | 25,000/km2 (65,000/sq mi) |
Economics | |
• Median income | $29,651 |
ZIP codes | 10453, 10468 |
Area code | 718, 347, 646 |
University Heights is a neighborhood of the West Bronx in New York City. The neighborhood is part of Bronx Community Board 5 and Bronx Community Board 7. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are: West 190th Street to the north, Jerome Avenue to the east, West Burnside Avenue to the south and the Harlem River to the west. University Avenue is the primary thoroughfare in University Heights. The local subway is the IRT Jerome Avenue Line, operating along Jerome Avenue. ZIP codes include 10453 and 10468.
University Heights has a population of around 25,702. There is a mix of renter-occupied as well as owner-occupied households. The demographics are 23.0% African American, 2.0% White, 3.4% Asian or Pacific Islander and 72.6% Hispanic or Latino, the majority of which are of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent.
University Heights consists of 5- and 6-story buildings, older multi-unit homes, newly constructed multi-unit townhouses and apartment buildings, and co-ops. The total land area is roughly one square mile. The terrain is elevated and hilly.
The neighborhood takes its name from the hill on which New York University's Bronx campus was built in 1894. The campus includes the Hall of Fame for Great Americans. In 1973 NYU sold the campus to the City University of New York, which renamed the campus Bronx Community College, but the neighborhood name has remained. With the opening of the IRT Jerome Avenue line in 1917, the neighborhood began a rapid transition from a one-time farm community that had become a place where wealthy people had their mansions and suburban villas, to an urban neighborhood built almost entirely of low-rise apartment buildings housing the prosperous middle classes.